The South Korea Customs Service has discovered 35 smuggling attempts since August 2011 which include nearly 17,500 capsules disguised as stamina boosters.
The pills considered by some people as medicinal ‘cure-all’ and stamina booster were found to be full of bacteria and other harmful ingredients.
“It was confirmed those capsules contain materials harmful to the human body, such as super bacteria. We need to take tougher measures to protect public health,” a customs official told Korea Times.
Korean authorities who have begun their investigations, refused to say where exactly the dead babies came from or who made the capsules.
The discovered capsules were all confiscated but no one has been punished because the amount was deemed small and they weren’t intended for sale, said Korean customs officials.
Smugglers said that they believed the capsules were ordinary stamina boosters and did not know the ingredients or the manufacturing process.
Chinese newspapers have announced the country’s northeastern regions especially the border province of Jilin as the source of the tainted capsules.
Chinese officials ordered an investigation into the production of such drugs last year. They also tried to stop exporting such capsules which are popular in Jilin Province and among ethnic people of neighboring Korean regions.